Daniel Ricciardo’s plans for 2024 explained as ‘door is ajar’ following Sergio Perez concerns

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Daniel Ricciardo has had an eventful week and his future and potential race seat in 2024 has become a big talking point.

Journalist Craig Slater has shared on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast more details about the Australian’s future.

Daniel Ricciardo has returned from his hand injury with a bang after a sensation drive in Mexico.

He recorded a seventh-place finish at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez which was AlphaTauri’s best finish of the season.

It propelled them from the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship to eighth, ahead of Haas and Alfa Romeo.

That could earn the team tens of millions of pounds if they can maintain that spot over the final three weekends of the season.

It also might tie in with how the wider Red Bull group see Ricciardo’s short-term future in 2024.

There’s plenty of speculation at the moment over who might be Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull next season.

Sergio Perez’s drop in form this season has been concerning and in what is quite comfortably the fastest car on the grid he may not finish in the top two of the Drivers’ Championship.

If he loses out to Lewis Hamilton, then there will be plenty of drivers who would love to drive alongside Verstappen.

Ricciardo would love to be in that car, but it appears as though there are other plans lined up for him.

Ricciardo’s future plans for 2024

Addressing how Helmut Marko and Christian Horner see Ricciardo’s immediate future, Craig Slater said: “I think the other aspect of this is, I think there was a plan for [Daniel] Ricciardo to play a significant role in AlphaTauri’s slight morphing into something more akin to the Red Bull works team next year.

“In their mind’s eye, they like the idea of the more experienced driver like Ricciardo leading that project at least next year.

“So, do they really want to upset that aspect of it to put him in the car alongside Max [Verstappen] next year?

“I think the door is ajar, I think that’s without question. On balance, does it need to get worse for Checo [Perez] before the end of the season?”

There is still so much uncertainty at AlphaTauri going into next season, including the fact their name is expected to change once again.

Yuki Tsunoda will enter his fourth season with the team and alongside the experienced Ricciardo they should be delivering some good results.

That of course depends on the car they’re provided but if they’re going to work closer with Red Bull then it should be much faster than this season.

Ricciardo will want assurances on his future at Red Bull before 2024 and is in a strong position to discuss his position in the team following Mexico.

If Sergio Perez does leave the team, the Australian will hope he’s at the front of the queue to step up.

Lifting AlphaTauri further up the Constructors’ Championship will do his hopes no harm at all.